Dan Uggla
Daniel Cooley Uggla (born March 11, 1980) is a Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman for the Florida Marlins. Uggla finished third in the 2006 National League Rookie of the Year voting behind teammate and winner Hanley Ramirez, and Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals, but won the Players Choice and Sporting News NL ROY awards. Dan also has his own fan club at Dolphin Stadium who call themselves "Uggla's Ugglies". Personal life and early career Uggla was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Elizabeth Armstead (née Cooley) and John Carl Uggla.Ancestry of Dan Uggla His last name means "Wise" in Swedish, and he descends from the untitled branch of an old Swedish noble family. After graduating from Columbia Central High School in Columbia, TN, in 1998, Uggla attended the University of Memphis where after his junior season he was named an All-American by Baseball America, Baseball Weekly, and Collegiate Baseball. Professional career Minor leagues Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 11th Round (338th overall) of the 2001 amateur entry draft, Uggla spent five seasons in the Diamondbacks organization, including a year with the short season-advanced team, the Yakima Bears in Yakima, Washington. He amassed a .276 career minor league batting average, .341 on-base percentage, and .443 slugging percentage, to go along with 64 home runs, 311 runs batted in, and 62 stolen bases. Although he was 25 years old, which would make him the same age as many AAA players, and moderately successful in 2005, he never advanced past the AA level. Uggla was left off the Diamondbacks 40-man roster in 2005, and the Marlins selected him in the Rule 5 Draft. Florida Marlins Starting the 2006 season with the Marlins, Uggla would get his first major league hit just one day later when he singled off Houston Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte; his first home run was on April 13 against San Diego Padres starter Dewon Brazelton; his first stolen base was a steal of home plate against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 21. Following the 2006 season, Uggla worked out at D1 Sports Training in Nashville, TN. Uggla was named to the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 2, 2006, as a reserve; he is believed to be the first player in history to be selected for the All-Star Game in the same season in which he had been a Rule 5 pick. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0711allstarnb0711.html On September 15, 2006, Uggla hit his 25th home run, breaking Joe Gordon's record for most home runs by a rookie second baseman. Because he received less publicity as a prospect than some of his fellow rookies in Major League Baseball, such as Prince Fielder, Ryan Zimmerman, and Nick Markakis, Uggla's display of power in the majors and his selection to the National League All-Star team caused him to suddenly draw more attention. The Official Site of The Florida Marlins: News: Uggla: Rule 5 draftee to ROY candidate Throughout his rookie season, due to the many mispronunciations of his last name, Marlins television announcers Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton have exclaimed, "And his name is... DAN UGGLA!!", when Uggla hit a home run. That continues through 2008. Uggla finished his rookie season with 27 homers and 90 runs batted in. He won numerous rookie awards, including the Players Choice NL ROY award and Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award. The Marlins finished Uggla's second season in last place. Uggla finished the year with a .245 batting average, caused mainly by slumps in April and September.The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Stats: Individual Player Game by Game Log However, he did surpass his rookie home run total, hitting 31 home runs and knocking in 88 runs. Uggla is considered media friendly. He has hosted This Week in Baseball in the past with several of his teammates. He also appears weekly on Sirius' Mike & Murray Show (hosted by Bruce Murray and Mike Yam on channel 123) every week during the 2008 baseball season. On May 10, 2008 Uggla hit his first career Grand Slam in the fourth inning of the game against the Nationals off Joel Hanrahan. On May 25, 2008 Uggla set a Marlins record for most home runs for a Marlins in any month (12) passing Gary Sheffield. On June 11, 2008, about a month after his first grand slam, he hit a walk-off grand slam off Tom Gordon to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 at Dolphin Stadium. The rising star emerged in 2008, named to the 2008 MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, as well as opting to take part in the 2008 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. Uggla hit six home runs in the first round of the derby, two on the first two balls. Uggla finished fifth, tied with Grady Sizemore. In the All-Star Game, Uggla committed two consecutive errors on playable balls in the 10th inning that appeared to end the National League's hopes of victory, but those errors did not result in runs. He committed a third error in the bottom of the 13th, making him the first player with three errors in a single All-Star Game.Night Starts Out Badly for Uggla, and Stays That Way Uggla also struck out three times, and ground into a double play. See also * Florida Marlins all-time roster References External links * MLB Profile * Dan Uggla on the Fish@Bat Florida Marlins Wiki }} Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Florida Marlins players Category:Major league players from Kentucky Category:Major league second basemen Category:National League All-Stars Category:Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky Category:Swedish-Americans Category:University of Memphis alumni Category:2006 National League All-Stars Category:2008 National League All-Stars Category:Players